Academic Advising Center

Pre-Professional Advising

The University of Alaska Fairbanks offers academic programs and courses that prepare students to be competitive and successful applicants to professional post-baccalaureate programs.

Pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, pre-veterinary medicine, pre-pharmacy and pre-law are not undergraduate majors, but rather a suggested program of study to prepare students to apply to these professional programs. Many professional programs prefer or require a bachelor's degree be completed prior to acceptance, so plan to complete an undergraduate degree as well as the prerequisites of the professional program in which you are interested. Typically your choice of major will not affect your chances of admission to a professional program, so choose a major that both interests you and allows you to complete appropriate prerequisite coursework.

The Academic Advising Center provides information to UAF students on how to prepare for professional programs that are not currently offered in the state of Alaska. UAF students may complete the required prerequisite courses as well as an associate of arts or associate of science degree and a bachelor's degree in preparation for applying to their program of interest.

The Academic Advising Center has researched the admission requirements for many professional schools to assist students in preparing for graduate and professional study. Most professional programs are very competitive and require high grades, high test scores (GRE, MCAT, DAT or LSAT), a proven interest in the field (exposure through volunteer or work experience, and extra-curricular activities) and several letters of reference.

Students interested in pursuing a professional post-baccalaureate degree should use the information provided as a guideline. Admission requirements will vary by school. It is important to verify specific admissions requirements with each school of interest.

Students interested in attending health care programs not offered in Alaska may complete the required prerequisite coursework here at UAF. While many state universities limit the number of non-resident students they accept, or only accept residents of their state, others have agreed to accept a limited number of qualified Alaskan applicants and reduce non-resident tuition for Alaskan residents. It is therefore important to determine the admission policy of your school of interest prior to applying.

The WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) program has partnered with the University of Washington to allow accepted Alaska residents to spend their first few years of medical school at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus followed by additional classroom and clinical instruction at the University of Washington's Seattle campus. Alaska residents only compete for acceptance with other students from Alaska. When accepted, they pay Washington State resident tuition. Additional information on the WWAMI program is available on UAA's website.